1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a data processing system, and more particularly to a system for health management. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to management of the health and status of tires on a vehicle.
2. Background
Vehicles such as aircraft typically do not have any form of automated tire monitoring. For these aircraft, mechanics must manually check the tire pressure at least once every twenty-four to forty-eight hours. This information is manually entered into a logbook. Mechanics must also visually inspect tires for damage and wear during the same interval at which they check tire pressure. There is no direct means available to check the tire carcass temperature.
Some newer aircraft have automated tire pressure monitoring systems, which measure the tire pressure and provide it to the operator or maintainer electronically. However, visual inspection for wear and damage is still required to assess the health of a tire. Visual inspections are done with the aircraft parked, so there is always some part of the tire that is not visible to the inspector, that part of the tire on the pavement. Additionally, brake temperature readings, if available, are used to determine if a tire is ready for another take-off event.
Airplane tires have a limited number of retreads of the tire carcass, and tires are one of the most expensive maintenance costs for an operator. The carcass life is based on engineering judgment and non-destructive evaluations, not the actual historical usage environment to which the tire has been subjected. Tracking the aircraft and the location on the aircraft of an installed, serialized tire is accomplished manually.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that addresses one or more of the issues discussed above in order to decrease maintenance events, provide an automated means to assess the health of a tire, and provide a means to extend the tire carcass life.